GlobalBassics - PsyAmb 79

This week we have a mix of deep globalbass, glitchy beats, ethno whomp and thing that go wub. You'll hear plenty of goodies it this one ( 20 in fact ! ) so let's get started.

We begin with Macedonian duo Yudhisthira ( Goran Bugarinovski and Ognen Zafirovski ) with a sumptuous, spatial dubby ethno beat adventure from Vertigo Records "Peace And Love 3" compilation mastered by good ol' Colin OOOD - seems everything that passes his mixing desk turns into gold ! What a belter of a tune ! These guys have been around for near on two decades and this, ashamedly, is the first I have heard of them. It certainly won't be the last as I'll be watching these guys closely from now on.

One of the best EPs from last year, Master Minded's "The Source Of Life" is home to the next track "Leopard's Prophecy". This track combines a dark spiritual atmosphere with trippy cut up beats to create a kind of fractalized fissure of global bass beauty . Master minded ( Eyal Ytshar ) just released his epic new full length album on the superb Maia Brasil records label. Titled "Elements", much like the series released by Avatar Records it explores the mysteries of the four elements earth, air, water and fire. It's a little more relaxed than I expected but still a super album and is this weeks "album of the week" so check it out for pure ethno ambient bliss. 

Brujo's Bowl ( Saxon Higgs ) is always good value for quality beats and bass driven psychedelic shenanigans. Our next tune is a remix of his tune "Submininal Message" by Smoke Sign. This version is pretty funky with some nicely crafted slapped bass sounds and slugging bass kicks. Wicked dimensions  for sure. Another version of this track by Expedizion also featured on mix 53 so check that out if you dig this one. Saxon also releases music under the Beatroots alias. Beatroots kind of explores more minimal dub and hiphop sounds. Personally I prefer the old Brujo's Bowl stuff. He released a new Brujo's Bowl EP earlier this year however it was more of an uptempo dancefloor affair. You can catch him playing both BB and Beatroots at Canada's Luminosity Festival this July. 

Closer - Unfolding Noise From The Future

The world is awash in sound. Some sounds comfort us. They lift you up and make you smile. Others agitate us. They boil the liquid in your eyes and make your teeth scream. 

Right now I'm sitting in an inner-city cafe and I can distinguish somewhere around a dozen sounds. There is the chatter of customers, the assured clink of cup on dish as the staff clean up another empty, the welcoming robotic pleasantries of the counter staff, the looping buzz of the fan above my head, footsteps ( high heels most likely ) from the floor upstairs, the 90s acid-jazz soundtrack from the speaker to my left and the crinkle of a crisp wrapper a toddler is fingering to my right. 

When you think of sound like that you begin to wonder how people relax at cafes at all. Yet relax I do. As we all do. The modern world is so flooded with sound that we have evolved to ignore most of it unless we stop to pay attention. 

Music can be noise. We all know music we consider aggravating. One person's Miles Davis is another person's Miley Virus. Yet it isn't something we can't easily tune out from as we can with other daily distractions. Music is more personal. We form opinions and setup roadblocks. 

The music of noise is a curious thing. It's not really my cup of tea. It's a big thing here in Japan though and some of the biggest names in the biz can be heard playing at a bar not far from my doorstep. I ventured in there a few times - to that dark, angry basement. I always left feeling generally dizzy, disturbed and fortunate not to have payed an entry fee. 

So when I was invited to listen to the latest offering of music from Australian ambient artist Closer ( Liam Daly ), who describes his music as using noise and tape-hiss, I wasn't exactly scrambling for my headphones.